User Reviews

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by
Shane Grathwohl
a AudioPhile

Date Reviewed: February 7, 2015

Bottom Line:

I upgraded my 9 year old Axiom M60's to the Axiom M80 v4, and I'm blown away. I'll share what I run in my meager system so others will know what might work well. I'm pushing only 80 watts in 8 ohms with a NAD integrated amp, and I have high quality Transparent cables and interconnects, and a Powerpack II power conditioner as the power strip. With the upgrade in streaming music quality from Tidal, I now listen mostly to my HP quiet fan laptop running into a tubed Music Hall dac. I also have a large listening room which measures 30' long x 14' wide x 11' high. I'm happily surprised in every way about the sound from theses speakers. A few of my friends have $20k-$50k systems, and I can honestly say that I have no need to be envious any more. Bottom line, these speakers are truly amazing, and this is the first time my system has WOWed me. The M80 v4 deliver a big sound stage, and the imaging and breadth of sound are extraordinary.

Just upgraded my M80V3 for the new V4. Just love them. It's got the power when you need it and the imaging you want when you are listening a great recording. Axion upgraded the cross over and the main drivers, it makes the difference.
I was listening to Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture performed by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra at a volume to make me feel sitting beside the conductor. My impression WOW! The beginning of this musical masterpiece is nice and smooth all the instruments are easy to identify and can easily be located and when you get to the final, listening to the canons of the Gothenburg Artillery division, and the churchbells of the cathedral. it really moved me.
You will never get this kind of precision and power from a small box from a competitor that will cost you more. These speakers can render all the instruments. They are far better than many other speakers at twice the price. Axiom is offering a great product, a great warranty.
No hesitation to recommend this product. They sound great at low volume and can move you at higher volume. From classical, jazz, blues or a loud rock, you will love to rediscover your entire cd or vinyl collection
If you amp can deliver power at 4 ohms, go for them.
At that price you will not go wrong.

I am mostly commenting on the previous review. How could anyone reviewing a speaker be listening to MP3 audio and then think they understand how the music is supposed to sound. That is like a well trained surgeon opening you up with a garden trowel. Yes, it will open you up, but what a mess. Please, unless you are listening to real CD or HD CD or vinyl, please keep your audio reviews on the iPod forums. Thanks and happy listening.

I do hate to be disagreeable but, in relation to the above review, how can a speaker be both too bass heavy and also too bright? I read many comments about this speaker and its brightness and would like to respond. One of the difficulties with all good speakers, it seems to me, is finfpding the right amplifier to pair with them. In my case, I have bi-amped two Quad 909s to the Axiom M80s. When I first used this system, there were certain recordings that simply sounded horrible. I cannot remember which one but one of Andrew Manze's recordings set my teeth on edge. I quickly realized that, depending on the recording, the stereo setup either reproduced a clean pleasing and non-fatiguing sound or something quite unpleasant. Working even deeper, I went back to the Manze recording. What could have been wrong? I realized that the recording was a 128 Kbps download from emusic.com. I downloaded a 256 Kbps version from iTunes and, hey presto, the overbearing brightness was gone. As for the bass, quite frankly, I have still to find myself overwhelmed by it. More recently, I bought an Axiom hoe theatre setup. I've paired that with an Anthem MRX 500 and an Anthem BLX 200 blu ray player. If you knw Anthem then you know that it uses room correction technology that is widely regarded as some of the best in the industry.

The home theatre results are nothing short of spectacular, the bass is incredibly precise and (at the right times) room shaking. I'm relating all of this because I want to contrast the bass response of my home theatre with the bass response of the 2 channel audio. Some would say that I am comparing apples to oranges and perhaps that is so. At the same time, the comparison does give me a datum line from which to judge the M80s.

That comparison has revealed to me that the M80s bass response is appropriate. In other words, with my pre-amp's tone controls set at the null point, the bass response on the speakers sounds incredibly realistic and well matched/balanced with both the midrange and treble.

There are better speakers on the market but, unfortunately, they are not in my snack bracket. Having auditioned several other speakers in my home, I can say with confidence that, in terms of value for money, the Axioms were a good purchase

I had a chance to do a long term demo of these speakers at my neighbors house. The bass response is well extended for a slim tower but I found the bass to be too powerful for the overall sound. The female vocals sounded colored in the mid bass region giving a more boxy sound characteristic than a live performance. The treble was very detailed but over time I found these speakers to be a bit bright. All of the glowing professional reviews are a bit overhyped from what my ears found. If you can pick up a pair of these speakers for around $1k/pair, they are a good deal, otherwise look elsewhere if you want a more accurate sound.